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Hello, I am so happy to introduce a new familymember :)...

Hello my friends. Long time lurker, infrequent poster here. It's a winter-dark overcast day here but the hearthside vibes and spirits are good. I have a couple new friends here; If you've visited the Marketplace forum recently you will have no doubt noticed postings by Dr. Guitar, aka Marty Grass. I have managed to land a couple of beautiful K-zoo objets d'art. A H-555 built by Heritage for Vince Lewis, and an H-150 loaded with SD p rails. If I could bottle the joy of anticipation with the even greater joys of enjoying these beauties, well that would truly be somethin. Along with a stunning Sweet 16, also landed from Marty Grass, and a Gibbons 175-ish by the wonderful Pete Moreno (thank you Fernando), my Kalamazoo gits will keep me warm no matter how dark the winter. While I'm at it, Happy Holidays to all the wonderful boys and girls at HOC. Best always...

GC in Kalamazoo has a really nice selection of Heritage guitars right now, including a Core 150. But there was a 2020 Dirty lemon burst Standard that was calling to me! GC had a great offer on Heritage stuff right now so I took it home! I had to do a complete setup on it. The action was sky high and there was way too much relief in the neck. But it setup PERFECTLY! Low action and the neck straightened out very well. Being PLEKED makes a huge difference!!!! HUGE!!!! Heritage had definitely stepped up to the plate with their quality. This 150 is stellar!!! As good as any Gibbons CS I have ever played!! I do think they need to get away from SD 59s though, I’m not really impressed with them.

I was searching for a H-150 in the 8.5-9 pound or less range. A friend from another forum tipped me off to a couple on sale at a local GC. Since I had to return something anyway, I took a look. They had this one and an OSB model. This one was just under 9 pounds. The OSB was just over 9 pounds. NOS 2019 floor models marked down significantly with 0% 24 month financing. Not a bad deal. I got them to throw in a setup which they reluctantly did. I was looking for a Dirty Lemon Burst since I already had a Cherry Burst, but the deal was right so I took it.

I finally bought a Heritage H-150! I've wanted one since buying my H-535 last year. Like my H-535, this will replace a similar Gibson. It was dirty, and the nut needed a little attention, but It's all good now. What a nice guitar!

Well, maybe not new... or a custom core, but it is a great guitar that is every bit as nice as any that has come off the dock of 225 Parsons. I think it is a 2006 or 2007. New people to the Heritage brand -you can get some fantastic guitars for a very good price these days.

As I’m getting ever closer to 70 years on this planet I don’t actively gig these days, however I still dep/stand in for friends if the need arises and last week I had the opportunity to take on guitar duties with a country band, as I struggle now with the longer Fender scale, there was an obvious choice as to which guitar would fit the bill. I had previously spent some time adjusting the Lollar polepieces and bridge setup, all I can say is “Telecaster owners eat your heart out”. Paired with my handwired Wienbrock Me3 combo (5e3 style) it was a marriage made in heaven. H137 ownership might tempt me out of retirement !!!! Oh and I’m off to a blues jam tomorrow, happy days.

Remember, Brent will sell it back to the kid eventually.

Short history: Heritage was formed by former Gibson employees after the company left Kalamazoo. The owners were Jim Duerloo, Marv Lamb, Bill Paige, JP Moats, and Mike Korpak, who left shortly after the company started. All were in some type of management roll at the time. All had been longtime employees of Gibson that simply didn't want to move to Nashville. They bought a bunch of the equipment that Gibson did not take with them, and moved into the same building at 225 Parsons Street. This happened in 1985. Some of the owners had started with Gibson in the mid and late 50s. Ren Wall joined them, after being in various positions at Gibson. Their designs were obviously Gibson inspired, although they dipped their toes into other styles. They kept the old style of manufacturing, staying with hand building rather than having machines do most of the work. About the only real "automation" was the duplicarver that carves tops for the various guitars, although it's basically a pin router that rough carves tops one at a time. Things stayed pretty much the same until 2016. At that point, changes began to take place. JP had retired, and sadly passed in 2015. All of the owners were getting up in years. A local real estate company bought the building and purchased Heritage. Half of the company was sold to Bandlab, a company from Singapore who also owns a lot of other musically related entities. They are a larger musical instrument retailer in SE Asia. They bought Sonar after Gibson tossed it in the trashbin and built it into Bandlab recording software. They own Guitar Magazine. In the process of refurbishing the building, they moved the guitar making operation from the basement of the original building to a part of the building that Gibson had built in the 60s or 70s. (At one time Gibson basically owned the entire block). There was an incident with some longtime employees, some were let go, and others left in protest. I won't go into the issues, as I wasn't party to any of it. Suffice to say, new employees were hired. They brought in some good people to manage the operation, while keeping the original owners. Marv and Bill have since retired. The last I heard, Jim was still coming in, but it's important to realize that these guys are getting into their 70s and 80s. Pete Farmer, who had worked for Heritage previously was brought in to oversee manufacturing. Edwin Wilson was brought on board from Gibson's custom shop. In relocating to the newer part of the building, the company kept the process and old equipment, but updated the area in a lot of ways, especially in safety. An extensive dust collection system was built, a new sealed spray booth was built to minimize dust contamination of the finish and keep the employees from breathing toxic fumes. A premium was put on consistently high quality, which had varied some over the years. They are still hand made, but all reports are that the quality is much improved. They contracted the product line to concentrate on the better sellers, H150, 530, 535, 575 and Eagle. The 137 was in the line until this past year. Bandlab also owns Harmony Guitars which are built in the same building, but have CNC cut bodies and necks and then assembled. I think the company is stronger than it has been in years, but at the expense of the almost family atmosphere of the original company. That's not a bad thing. Had the company not been sold, I'm sure the next step would have been to close the doors.

When the new group bought out the original Heritage they dumped a lot of their smaller dealers. That caused some hard feelings. I understand that. It isn't the same company these days. I can appreciate that they are building some very nice guitars now. I am glad they are. I think there is a band wagon going through that has a sign that says the new Heritage Guitar company build better guitars than the old group. I will not be riding on that wagon. Three of my friends and I have 10 Heritage Guitars between us. A 550, 3 150s, 3 535s, a 475 and two 137s. Only one of these was built after the old guys left. Buy used young man. A original Heritage will be a fantastic guitar.

Hello all, I’m new here! In real life two of my favorite things are coffee and guitar. I just recently bought a custom core h-150 in dirty lemon burst… I posted some pics in another thread, here’s one of the pics of from my NGD lol

I’m new here and thought you might want to see something I just picked up from Pete Farmer in the custom shop. I have wanted an Eagle Classic forever and as a retirement gift to myself, I contacted Heritage and visited with Farmer who showed me some options. I landed on the last of the five 2019 NAMM Eagle Classics that was in mid-construction. He nicknamed them the Be-Bop. As it turns out, mine will be the only one of the five that has everything from the original specs including the tortoise shell tuning buttons (the other four have gold). It plays like a dream and I haven’t put her down since I picked her up in July. Several gigs later, it’s my go-to guitar from now on for everything. Thought you’d like to see some photos.

I had a PRS 408 that I played for several years. It was always easy and fun to play, a great guitar, but it was never "just right". I couldn't bond with it. Then I played my Heritage H150 for the last 3 years. I had modified it with a vintage wiring harness and had it set up properly and I really enjoyed it. I was much happier with the H then I ever was with the PRS, but I was still wanting more. I got my H150 CC about 3 weeks ago, and it truly has that "special sauce". I don't know what it is, but I know it when I hear it. I speculate that it is the overtones that I'm hearing, but whatever, it just rings like a bell. This will be my #1 for the remainder of my career. (I'm 75, so there isn't a whole lot of career left, lol.)

It's great to see H-555's being custom ordered. I can't wait to get my 2007 back to work again doing what its made for.

The difficulty i have with generalizations about production years is that most of the instruments every year were very good.

I took a little trek to Grand Rapids tonight to check out this beautiful H525. I got it from the original owner, who's son used to work at Heritage. It was #2ed for some minor finish flaws....actually, its pretty much in NOS condition.

On this forum, I always felt uncomfortable saying what I did about the quality flaws of the older guitars, but there is NO doubt to me, that Heritage is building the best guitars they have since I've known of the company. Yes, some of the older ones are killer, especially some of the custom jobs I've seen, like Pressure, MartyGrass, Yoslate, and Kuz have commissioned, but I've seen many of the older ones sold in stores with some terrible nut slotting, fret filing and monkey soldering, etc. My friend Eric was a Heritage dealer and he carried all the standard models, so I played many of them from the so called golden years (preBandLab), and many people that bought them had problems with them. I had to do extensive work on all 3 of my older Heritage H150s to get them where I wanted them, but they all turned out killer. I had to replace the nut and do fret dressing on all of them. I sold one because it was ridiculously heavy, but the other two I've kept for good reason. When I first started getting into Heritages you could find a good H150 for around $1000 and then go to work on it, so the old ones were a bargain, especially if you could find one with a weight and finish that you liked. And then for a few hundred dollars more, you could get, new wiring, pickups, and hardware, etc, and you had a seriously good sounding guitar. My older 2006 H150 smokes!!! I bought it for $1200 and then put about $500 more into it so was a SERIOUS bargain! But many of the new guard H150's and H530's that I've played, were turn key, and were both good sounding and playable with no modding at all. I think the company is building some great guitars, and although more expensive, are still reasonably priced. Yes I know many of you guys are pissed about the way bandlab took over, but I don't care what they did, as long as they build good guitars and provide good customer service now. I have been looking at custom cores but waiting till I find exactly what I want. It's a new company better to start fresh.

Long before there was a HOC, I went through a Brentston-esque phase of buying and selling guitars. And I mean a lot of guitars (hence Brentston-esque). I bought a shit ton few (hi, hon!) keyboards with just the profits I made flipping guitars. When one of our younger sons was still in a crib, my wife was complaining to me she couldn't manage to put the mattress down lower and said son was able to climb out of his gayly painted prison. She eventually realized the issue wasn't the construction of the crib, but the guitar cases I had hidden under it (and forgotten about) that were preventing the desired operation from succeeding. This led to a less-than-fun discussion, but I digress. Across all of those guitars that passed through my hands, not once did I ever think, "boy, this thing sure is heavy!" or "wow, this sounds fantastic for how light it is!" The ones I gelled with (I suppose some might say "bonded with") stuck around. The ones that didn't, well, I flipped them to fund other guitars (and keyboards and fun stuff). There are a few guitars I moved on that I wish I had back (<cough>Tonesucker(tm)</cough>) and a few that I foolishly moved out that I did get back (most famously, a Hamer Studio FM wrap-tail that...well, never mind, long story). At no time, however, did weight alone ever figure in to the calculus. I am sometimes amused when I read posts--here and elsewhere--of people saying "I absolutely will not consider a guitar that weighs more than <x> pounds!" What if it was the sonic equivalent of the second coming of <insert your own personal messiah here>? You wouldn't at least ponder the possibility? What if it also had a neck to die for? Still no? Fretwork that was sublime? Not worth considering, eh? An oddity in the wiring that allowed you to get exactly *that* tone you hear in your head? Nope, weighs too much, hard pass, I guess. The way I view it, any particular guitar should be evaluated as the sum total of the parts (or metrics), not on any one factor alone. But, well, that's me. And I'm a little odd. So, there's that.

While I so much enjoy speculation on this topic, wisdom tells me to be suspect as to the motives and findings of engineers some 70 years ago as their memories and stories differ over the years. Most likely 99% of HOC members have zero experience BUILDING G type guitars. Legend is protypes were assembled in various thickness of mahogany and maple to balance sustain and brightness or sweetness. What I absolutely remember is from 2013 is a discussion with Marv and Jim on my 147 build. They started building LPs 5 years after the prototypes, but they combined to over 100 years experience building LP style. The 147 is a little smaller and thinner than a 150. I wanted a maple cap. My 137 is korina which according to Forum Lore, brings out the sparkle from P90. Since my 147 was to have a P90 bridge pickup I wanted a korina body which (I was told) is also lighter the mahogany. Marv lead me to one to their lumber storage rooms and we/he picked out their lightest korina board and sawed off a slice for the body and presented me with a piece/sample. Marv and Jim asked me how thick I wanted the korina? Both said the thicker instrument would be better (sustain?) I agreed with "thicker" as both founders were know to have disagreements on several aspects of "sound". They never mentioned how thick the maple should be or the carve. Some 5 months latter I picked up my tuxedo staple 147. I miss those days and suspect a lot of HOC members do as well.

My opinion is that Heritage has made great guitars since their inception. But they also had some lemons. That meant that the buyer needed to evaluate the individual instrument. The HOC was very helpful in that regard, at least in the used market. Members provided reliable opinions to guide purchasing. The new Heritage has better consistency but a narrower set of choices. Nothing wrong with that. Here are some of the unusual builds from the earlier years that show off the old guys' versatility and quality. Their reputation was primarily by word of mouth back then, some of it good and some not.

Hi I play Jingle Bells with my Sweet16. If you have time, Please listen to it !!

I ended up sending a note to the factory about a custom build. I have some hand issues that make playing barre chords for long periods of time difficult. I'm tired of churning guitars. I just want something that works for me. If it takes a custom build, then it does. In a month or so, I'll be finally able to afford something like that, so, for once in my life, I'm getting exactly what I want built. I asked to work directly with Pete.

I think you did miss a bit. Heritage Guitars was a retirement job for the founders. The people who came into working for them realized the nature of the venture and the conditions. It was a free market. Any of the employees who chose to work for them could have left at any time for another job, being it guitar building or something else. Some of the employees had known the founders for so long they couldn't remember not knowing them. Sure, the place was a dump. The founders didn't have the money to change much but still turned out great guitars. There was an, "underdog," status of standing up to Gibson and making better guitars back then. Sure, the founders stepped on their peckers -time and again. It was the nature of the company. Slate had an order lost for a year and corrected the problem in person at PSP1. They couldn't even keep a decent web site. The new company's web site isn't much to crow about. Gone are the days I can call one of the owners on his private line and just talk. Does Singapore have an area code?

I would like to give a special shout-out to the members of this forum. This is a great place for many things. Encouragement, advice, opinions, information, and support. Thanks to all of you, I have made my Standard H-150 into a killer guitar. I have changed the tuners, bridge, tailpiece, and the most intimidating mods, the pickups and caps. And I did it all myself. No waiting for someone else to do it for me. You guys (and ladies) are great. You know who you are.

Marv made this and I received it at one of the PSPs. They called it a Millennium Pro. Also a double cut I still have.

Sorry so many posting. but I can't edit 1st post and video embedding. OMG😪 I play my funny valentine so if you have time, please listen to it

Brent, you've done a great job on that poor 150 so far. I bet a stinger would look great on it after all of the structural work and refinishing has been done.

What's up all, I'm new to the Heritage owners club and couldn't be more pumped up about this guitar I've come to love! Quick background on me: I've been an acoustic snob for the last decade and just in the last year started dabbling in electric (what in the hell took me so long to get around to electric...idk). Since the time I got my feet wet I've completely plunged in the deep end and now eat, sleep, and breath electric. I've got tunnel vision for the Blues right now. After going through 5 electric guitars in less than 12 months I stumbled into a local shop that had this gorgeous gold top (my favorite look) hanging behind the counter made by Heritage...who I had never heard of before. I had been bouncing between Epi, Fender, and Gibson and wasn't able to settle on any of them. So not knowing Heritage I figured I'd plug it in to a Delta Blues 115 and see how the neck felt. Until this guitar I hadn't played a neck sweeter than a 2010 Clapton Strat, and that thing was buttery-smooth (the radius I wasn't a fan of, however). As soon as I put my hands on this H140 it immediately felt at home, like an old friend. The sound perked me up even more, it was a perfect mix of subtle warmth and twang coming from the '61 Gibson Humbuckers the previous owner had installed. The cherry on top was the price. I new within the first few minutes the guitar was going home with me (and the Delta Blues came home as well) though I sat and played for an hour. She's got some wear and tear from the previous owner gigging with it (and prob the one before) but nothing that is alarming. I'd like to swap out the bridge and tailpiece, if anyone has recommendations I'm all ears. I also need to change the output jack and I think the pickup selector switch needs to be swapped out as well. If there's any recommendations or vids on this I'd appreciate it. The last cool little bit that cemented this guitar being mine until I turn to ash is it shares my 2nd daughters birthday! I imagine I'll pass it along to her one day. Here's my new favorite guitar: 1991 H-140 Gold Top

Hi, I play "Sunny" with my Sweet16. If you have time, please listen to it. Thank you Always

Is the mahogany on an 8 lb guitar the same wood as one on an 11 lb guitar? The densities are dissimilar obviously, so are they even the same sort of guitar? I'll stir up some controversy. The first is the question as to why mahogany was used for the Gibson then Heritage solid bodies. Mahogany was an established tonewood for acoustic instruments, which makes sense. But why use it as a large slab for a body? I can't answer that fully but at least in part it had to do with furniture manufacturing, which was a big industry in Michigan in the last century. Mahogany was plentiful, relatively cheap, durable, and didn't fragment and splinter much when shaped. Those who argue that it was chosen for tone have to consider that there is really no history of Gibson experimenting much with other woods with the exception of the maple cap. Korina is fairly similar to mahogany in properties and never was a serious contender to displace mahogany as the default building material. http://legacy.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/korinawoodmakesgreatguitar.aspx Gibson mahogany tended to be lighter in the 1950s. I don't know why that worked out that way. It could be the abundance of old growth, longer drying, harvesting from different regions, decreased shipping costs, or company preference for other reasons. As time went on, the weight tended to increase. Weight relief was a solution in part. Even in light guitars, like the Tele and the PRS SE 245, weight relief gained traction. The early Heritage H-150s often were about 10 lbs. Some claimed that extra heft enhanced sustain and created "tone monsters". That term obviously means different things to different people. The original concept of the LP was a maple cap presumably to give high density for brightness and sustain when placed on the current source of mahogany that was lower density back then. More recently commercial mahogany is available with density similar to maple. That raises the question as to whether the maple cap is now more of a tradition or for appearance. https://www.easycalculation.com/other/wood-density-chart.php One thing for sure is that lighter mahogany weighs less! It is easier on the shoulders and backs. Curiously, the LP Customs and some of the H-157s had no maple cap but had solid finishes. That suggests the maple cap was at least in part for appearance. I am very familiar with the book Beauty of the Burst and the extensive discussions on wood harmonics and choices. Even if those discussions were true, there is less relevance today because the signal chain is very different in the 21st century. Consider Fender for a moment. They used and use lighter wood and have an overall lighter guitar. Some say their popularity is due to a lower cost, which there is clearly merit to that. But it doesn't explain why Gibson couldn't compete with Fender with the Melody Maker and Les Paul Jr. back in the 1960s. Further, it can't account for the widespread use of Fenders among professionals, including in the fields of blues and rock. Here is a clip of Fender and Heritage. I personally like the sound of the Heritage better. But look at the audience. Is there a single disappointed face when Frankie plays the Fender? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFtdEkG_OoI Can the wood be too light? I was warned not to buy a G&L made of empress (paulownia) because of the low density and potential for screws to strip out. I got it anyway. It is very light, under 7 lbs. It has good sustain and seems durable. No regrets. To summarize, solid body guitar players tend to like less heft to their guitars, which is understandable. They draw the line in many cases against weight relief but embrace low density to achieve lightness. Contrary to this summation is that thin necks are not uniformly embraced, so the added weight of a heavier neck is acceptable. Finally, the infinite possibilities of the signal chain won't offset the loss of "tone" in a guitar of improper density. As I have discussions with engineers about the history of the structuring of electric guitars, it takes little time for them to ask enough questions to reach the conclusion that the tonequest is beyond physics and math and enters into the realm of aspirations, symbolisms, and intuitive beliefs. It is in this realm where passion stirs. On a personal note, I have H-150/157s ranging from less than 8.5 lbs up to over 11 lbs. All of them are excellent. It is a buyer's market for the heavier guitars. The market does change. Consider that Gibson couldn't sell LPs at the beginning. Those same instruments are going for huge sums now. The original PAFs were literally taken to the dump in large numbers in the 1960s to make room for the latest and greatest pickups. Back when I would do three hour gigs, quite a while ago, I used a weight relieved guitar, a semi-hollow. No one would have ever thought that was bad guitar despite its overall low density. That would never entered the realm of possibility of discussion. That was a different time. I apologize if any of this content is unsettling. I try to reflect the overlap of practical industry and marketing decisions at Gibson, and by consequence Heritage, with those instrument designers who did pursue tone as well as other aesthetics. The result wasn't the epitome of elegance (note the acrylic fretboard inlays), but was an excellent instrument that was reachable in cost to a large enough to be financially viable. Even with these compromises there were some failures among the many successes.

Got to do a better inspection today. Stripped it down, checked all the hardware, gave it a thorough inspection, conditioned the fretboard, cleaned and polished it since it hung in a GC, slammed the tailpiece, fresh top-wrapped strings, and double checked the setup. Only thing I found was the nuts on the tuners we're a little loose. She is ready to rock, now. Plays and sounds AWESOME.

Here's a quick 5 min video showing how they put the binding on the sides of the fretboards, then the machine that trims them down to make the "nibs".

Within the next month or so, I'm planning on starting to look for a H-150 that has a 50's neck carve and is around 8 pounds (or lower). A CC would be a great option, but I'm cheap, and I'm not sure I can justify that expense. So I found this 1989 H-150 at Sam Ash in Richmond. It finally appeared on the SA site today, so I put it on my SA card. I tried calling the store the other day, but the sales team there was totally clueless ("is that an Epiphone?"). If I don't like it, I'll return it locally and keep searching. It has a few nicks and scratches, but as long as the neck is what I want and the weight is good, I can work with that. https://reverb.com/item/47769458-the-heritage-the-heritage-lp-electric-guitar-richmond-va

These guitars were made in Kalamazoo 60 years apart! My 1959 Gibson ES-225TD and 2019 Heritage H-535! Sometimes, I consider selling the ES-225TD to buy an H-530 for better playability, but I'm afraid to become that guy who "used to own" an awesome guitar like that (it still plays great)!

Hi all, I play a disney song by my Heritage guitar. If you have time, please listen to it. Thank you always.

So Danny goes out and gets himself this beautiful new dark cherry burst (I call it a bourbon burst) Custom Core H150....and I'm happy for him, don't get me wrong. And i love my dirty lemon CC H150...its beautiful and plays like a dream.... So i walk into Kalamazoo GC today....and there sits a DCB (BB) Custom Core H150, very similar to Danny's!!! AND they have ALL THEIR HERITAGE AND HARMONY inventory prices SLASHED!!!!!! I looked at the price and I'm like....this is a no brainer!!!! I couldn't believe how much was knocked off!!!! It was like 35% off!!! PLUS 48 months no interest!!!!! So I'm the proud new owner of a DCB..Bourbon Burst Custom Core H150. Thanks Danny!!! LOL LOL!!!! She needed some serious setup work....the neck had WAY too much relief and the intonation was way off. After a lil TLC...she was ready to rock!!! And rock, it does!!!

This one belong to Rhoadsscholar. He got it in trade at a guitar store in the Detroit area. I held on to it for months while he had Pete Moreno do some changes on the bridge and while Rhoads was traveling heavily. The he got it back. As most of you know he unexpected became sick and passed away last year, about 18 months ago. When the guitar was visiting me I really had no interest in another Golden Eagle. Cherry is not a traditional finish and to many in the jazz world is a bit on the bold side. But I carelessly bonded to it because I loved the amplified sound and its playability. Bob's (Rhoads') kids generously let me get back some of the guitars Bob and I had swapped back and forth for years. One is a H-525, another is a H-150 that I had very heavily modded before a traded it to Bob, and the final one is the Golden Eagle. Bob's son Jason will be selling a few dozen guitars in the estate pretty soon. I will post the details with pics on HOC. You can work with Jason directly on this. As an aside, Jason and Jeremy are Bob's twin boys. Bob got each of them H-157s made within a day of their birth. I saw Jason's recently. It's white with black binding. Now it's beautifully yellowish. The cherry Golden Eagle has parallel bracing and a HRW. There is some playwear but not as much as I'd expect with 22 years. A previous owner put a Schaller bridge on a Heritage eagle base but did a bad job. The studs were too deep and made impressions under the base. These were just deep enough to wear through the nitro but not damage the wood. Also, it looks like someone darkened the ebony on the base and that dye leached into the nitro under the base. Pete Moreno shortened the studs and put nitro under the base to protect the wood. Fortunately none of that shows. Today I put a TOM on a different base. It also works well and seems to increase the sustain a little. The pics I have are indoor due to Michigan weather. They don't show the maple and spruce figuring well. Red is also a hard color to capture authentically with cheap photo equipment. I am one who believes that many guitarists hear things I honestly can't. This is what I can tell on this guitar. Acoustically it sounds like a thicker bodied Golden Eagle. Electrically it does sounds special. That could be the luck of the wood. But it may be the HRW, the parallel bracing, the Ren Wall 4 point mount, the single vs double pickup, or some combo. I now have two single pickup archtops with HRWs that really sound similar in that they have a little sparkle on frequency spectrum. Look forward to the listing of Bob's guitars. Jason is reliable, honest, and a good communicator.

Never been particularly interested in chasing a particular tone Ive heard on record. I do have quite clear ideas about how I want to sound though. I am quite gain/od/dist averse. Mids are really important to me, if I cant get the right mix of upper and lower mids right out of the box I get frustrated. Initially wasted a lot of money on speakers, eq pedals and tubes etc trying to get amps to conform to my wants. Preference for big warm clean sounds with a sweeter top end means Ive always sort out amps with exactly that. Never had any luck with low watt amps or early break up amps. Ive generally found the sound I like with 60+watt amps, mainly with 6L6 power amps. It sucks really, theyre all heavy. Because of my dislike of gain/od the hardest part of buying amps has been finding amps with a od sounds I can get along with. Often sat with amps Im trying and got to the point where I realise "that is "the" sound! but I cant stand it!" I dont think I was built to play high gain rock'n'roll, as much as I like some of it. Took 40yrs to figure that out. Played a lot of high gain rocknroll in the meantime. Another preference is 112 open back combos. I love the sound onstage, and at home. Even if I was using a head I would always run it through an open back cab. The last few years gigging was a 112 combo with either a 112 or 212 cab and pedals for od. Best sounds I ever had. Gave me a lot of satisfaction to hear myself as I imagined I should sound. Then I quit! Ha!

Q: What do guitar players need to think about when buying amps? A: How am I gonna get this into the house without the wife noticing… 💀

Good times in north Alabama. L-R Me, Jim, Lance, and Bill.

A couple of thing Josh; 1) You are not going to please everyone. 2) Not everyone wanted/needed a custom 137. 3) Not everyone had $1800-1900 to throw down on a fairly short deadline. 4) To be "embarrassed" about how it turn out is a little bit dramatic. Those that truly wanted one bought one, those that were just kicking the tires or didn't want/need a custom 137 didn't buy one. What is there to be embarrassed about? Bottom line, you and 3 others got a great custom guitar. How many did you really expect to sell? The four of you got a great deal and others just didn't want or need one.

Yeah ok this is bar none the best guitar I’ve ever held/played lol

Hi, I play "On Green Dolphine Street" with my Sweet16 If you have time, Please listen to it. Recently I realize how hard to find other Sweet16. Even Reverb has zero sweet16 now. I really regret not get another one in modest price some years ago 😖

I forgot to add that this is one of many guitars that was part of a larger collection. This is just the one that was given to my father and stepmother. Another family member supposedly has the bulk of the guitars and will be sending pictures and trying to evaluate them. I do not know how many there are or if they will be for sale. All I know is this one is now a part of our immediate family and the other guitars are yet to be gone through.

This is on the way.

I was fortunate to find this 2021 Custom Core H150 used....I'm so glad i did. I have gone through this guitar inside and out...played it plugged and unplugged, and I'm going to give you my honest and complete review of this new model from the Heritage Custom Shop. PRESENTATION... I was impressed with Heritage's attempt to make this a "special" model. The case is VERY nice and heavy duty. The bound certificate is a nice touch as well. I also found the CS keychain a nice touch. A lot of these pleasantries, somewhat mirror the Gibson CS...like the sticker on the pick guard....but considering that this model is going head to head with the Gibson CS R9, I can see the reasoning. FIT AND FINISH... I have to say this was the most surprising part of this guitar, to me. The finish on the guitar is like a lightly aged/overly polish swirled....I would call it a close comparison to the VOS finish on CS Les Pauls. Its gloss...but not completely gloss. It caught me off guard...I was expecting a super glossy, super shiny finish. Nicely aged binding...looks like smoky bar binding. All of the routes, holes, attached pieces and parts all fit right and look great. Neck joint and neck pitch are perfect. The bone nut is cut perfectly! PARTS AND ELECTRONICS.... From what I'm seeing, it look like Heritage used all premium parts on these CC 150s. CTS pots, Orange drop caps, Switchcraft toggle and jack, Tonepros bridge, lightweight aluminum tailpiece and all vintage style braided wiring. I'm not sure what band the HERITAGE stamped tuners are...they seem to be ok, although, the D and G tuner nuts are striped out on my guitar (wont tighten down to the headstock) I'll have to email Heritage and see if they will send me a couple replacements. THE WOODS... Typical LP construction. One piece mahogany body and neck. Highly figured maple top. Rosewood fretboard with mother of pearl traps. The headstock has an inlaid veneer with the Heritage logo. I cant believe how light this guitar is!!!! Just under 8 1/2 lbs! Its lighter than my 2020 H150 Standard. NECK CARVE.... Heritage really nailed the necks on these! Its a rounded C shape which measures .895 at the first fret and .982 at the 12th fret with a moderate amount of shoulder. Not baseball bat-ish. I find it very comfortable...its very similar to the neck on my 2017 Heritage 535 custom. SETUP AND PLAYABILITY... This H150 is PLEKed...all new Heritages are now. So, I was expecting a low action with minimal neck relief. Well, I got it!!! I use 10-46 gauge strings. The Custom Core 150 sets up with a super low action which makes it play like butter all the way up the neck!! Almost effortless chording and wonderful sustain. TONE.... Heritage is putting their own 225 Parson Street Pickups in these Custom Core models. I'm not sure who winds these...I'm guessing someone in the Kalamazoo local? The 225 pickups remind me of a cross between a CS Duncan 59 and Seth Lover. The Bridge pickup tone is crisp and articulate. Great note definition. Not ice-picky. The neck pickups tone is very warm and creamy. Also very articulate. Very fat when pushed with some moderate OD. Overall, I feel the tone of this guitar is right up there with some of the best Les Pauls I have owned. I'm probably gonna try some different pickups in it, just because, thats what i do...lol. But out of the box....The Custom Core H150 sounds fantastic! PUTTING A BOW ON IT.... I can honestly say I'm very impressed with what Heritage has done with the Custom Core H150. Heritage has shown, with this model that they can play with the big boys. I'm not out to start a HERITAGE VS GIBSON DEBATE....NO!!! Its all personal preference. You want a CS Gibby, buy a Gibby. You want a Kalamazoo made CS LP...buy the Heritage....its that simple!!! I honestly think the Custom Core H150 and the Gibby Custom Shop R9 are of equaly quality and playability. (i know im gonna catch a lot of flack for that statement) The street price on the Custom Core H150 (non artisan aged) is $3799. Artisan Aged $4299. If you are looking for a top shelf Les Paul, made in Kalamazoo, Michigan....the Heritage Custom Core H150 is your guitar!!!

My real name is Chad. I have only recently (July 5) become a owner, but I did lurk for a while gathering information before making a purchase. I only have one Heritage (so far). I can't believe I waited so long to get one of these beauties. I am glad to be here to help and get help from those more knowledgeable.

So, this is not my story, or at least I will claim it is not to protect those responsible. Quite a long time ago, there was a company whose business was making liquid oxygen. It's hard to make liquid oxygen without making liquid nitrogen too, and in those days there wasn't really much use for it, so the stuff used to be quite readily available to various young science graduates who worked in the company. In this company was an office which had a door which didn't fit very well: there was a gap of perhaps half an inch under the bottom of the door. Meetings were sometimes held in this office. The gap under the door was quite large enough that if one happened to have a bucket full of liquid nitrogen to hand, one could slosh the bucket under the door, spreading liquid nitrogen all over the floor of the office. The consequence of this was that the liquid nitrogen would suddenly have a very large free surface and would start evaporating furiously. The energy for that would come, at least in part from the air in the room which would drop in temperature by tens of degrees (proper degrees, not Fahrenheit) over a few seconds. All the moisture in the air would condense out and the room would fill with dense, freezing fog. Outside the office would be heard the sound of giggling science graduates, running away before anyone found their way out. I'm sure this has something to do with guitars.

When Seth Lover "invented" the humbucker he also invented the height adjustable rings. P90 dogears needed the shims as the variations in neck angle and adjustable bridge height/playing action required them. Better to have shims you can remove or raise than a P90 decked to the body that prevents lowering the action due to strings hitting the plastic. I believe my custom Prospect P90 was their first and I needed to remove the shims to get the action to taste and clear the pickup.